Improved boot-crimping machine



tinteil (shining aient www Letters Patent No. 90,828, Hated .7u-ne 1, 1869.

IMPROVED BOOT-CRIMPING- MACHINE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the name.

To all to whom these presents shall come Be it know'n that I, J. AUSTIN ELDRUJGE, of Milford, in the county of Worcester, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have made a new and useful 1mprovement in Boot-Crimping Machines; and do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and inlwhich- Figure 1 is a perspective elevation, and- Figure 2, a vertical and transverse section of a machine embodying my invention.

The invention comprising the subject of this patent relates to a class of machines for accomplishing the crimping of b'oot-fronts, in which two upright flat clamping-plates or jaws are employed, they being supported in.a suitable frame, face to face, and substantially in parallelism, and caused to approach and recede from each other by suitable means; the use of these machines being so well understood that a description of their operation is not considered necessary in this specification. l

' This invention relates, first, to means for operating the clamping-jaws of a boot-crimping machine, in a simple, durable, and effective manner; and, secondly, in supporting such plates upon their bed-plate, and

connecting them with their shaft jor screw in such` manner as to permit of their accommodating their movements to the varying thickness of different poitions of a boot-upper; that is to say, whether such upper has a thick leg and thin foot, or w'cc versa.

'lo accomplish the first-mentioned object, that of effecting the alternating movements of the clampingjaws or plates, I mount or rest them upon the upper surface of a flat base or bed-plate, making part cfa suitable frame; and I extend through them a horizontal shaft, supported loosely in proper standards erected upon the base-plate, and having right andleft male screws cut upon its periphery; one screw actuating one jaw and the other its fellow-jaw, in such manner, that upon rotating the shaft in one direction, the plates are caused to approach each other, and mice Jtwv-m1- each clamping-plate having the upper extremity of one arm of a toggle-joint pivoted to it immediately helowthe actuating-screw, while the lower extremit-yof each of such arms abuts against the inner face of the opposite clamping-plate, the lower portions of the two clamping-plates being forced in contact with the toggle-arms by the contracting power of interposed springs, as hereinafter explained; the arrangement ofthe toggle, in combination with the two plates, having the effect of securing vertically parallel movements of the latter, when left to their own free action. I

To effect the automatic lateral or horizontal adj ustment of the clamping-plates, they are connected with their operating-screws by swivelling-nuts, as hereinafter explained.

lu the drawings before mentioned Aas accompanying this specification, and which illustrate my invention,

A denotes a tlat rectangular bed or base-plate, having two upright standards B B erected upon opposite sides thereof, and at about its centre.

lo the upper part of these standards are applied boxes or bearings a a, such boxes serving to guide loosely each end of a horizontal transverse shaft, b, the periphery of each half of this shaft having male screws e c .cut upon it, one being a right and the other a left-hand screw; the said bearings being merely for the purpose of maintaining the sliding y jaws in an upright position upon the bed-plate.

G C denote t-wo'upright clamping-jaws or plates, mounted upon the base-plate A, the main union between each jaw and its screw or shaft b, being aswivelling-nut, d, through which the screw c passes; each y The toggle-joint before mentioned, is composed of two twin-shaped arms c e, pivoted together somewhat below their centres, as shown at f, and having' their upper extremities swivelled within the clamping-jaws, as shown at g.

rlhe lower extremity of eacharm e, abuts against the lower portion of the inner face of each opposite jaw C, such jaws being contracted .in contact with the toggle by means of coiled springs h h, applied to their lower extremities, as represented inthe accompanying drawings. K

Theclamping-plates, While being operated by the shaft b, should nevertheless have, as before premised, their bearings upon the upper surface of the bedplate A, in' order tol produce attirm and solid action, and remove pressure andstrain from the journals of the shaft One extremity of the shaft bis to be provided with a balance hand-wheel, D, for rotating it.

The mode of support and arrangement of the two movable clamping-jaws allow them to automatically accommodate themselves to the boot-front, which, in the old construction of boot-crimping machines, was a matter of considerable time and labor, as their construct-ion and organization were such that the operator was obliged to turn a crank-shaft to separate the'top oi the jaws to the necessary extent, and then manipulate a set-screw which was employ-ed te adjust the lower parts of the jaws, which acted independently of the shaft.

The use of the old machine required the expenditure of considerable time-and labor,.and-often resulted in injury or destruction to 4many bootefronts.

Under the arrangement of the movable jaws, as shown in my invention, an equal wear results to each.

Having thus described the nature, construction, and operation of my invention,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. I claim thearrangement of the clamping-jaws of a boot-crimping machine, whereby the vertical parallelism of such jaws is maintained under yall conditions of movement, substantially as Aherein described. v

2. I claim operating the movable jaws of a bootcrimping machine, by means lof a right and left-hand eases screw cut upon the shaft, which passes through them,

.whereby great simplicity and cheapness of construcscribed, so as to-secnre horizontal adjustment of such jaws for the purpose explained.

5. I claim the combination, with the movable jaws, of a boot-crimping machine and their actuatingscrews, f the swivelling-nnts d d, the same being applied and operating in manner as before set forth.

J. AUSTIN ELDRIDGE. Witnesses:

WM. J. MANN, C. A. SUMNER. 

